# Make your manicure last



## Marisol (Feb 10, 2008)

Make Your Manicure Last

Any manicurist worth her clippers recommends applying a new topcoat to nails every other day to prolong a manicure. Here are other suggestions.

Challenge: Chips

Likely Culprit: Polish Color

Heavily pigmented browns and beiges tend to chip faster because their high levels of iron oxide and titanium dioxide crowd out the chip-preventing agents known as film formers.

Make It Last: â€œSheer pearlescent shades deflect chips best because their flatter, more uniform particles provide fewer areas of vulnerability,â€ says Ernie Curtis, color cosmetics senior manager at Avon Products, in Suffern, New York. If you are wearing a brown or beige polish, you can help protect it by applying a long-wear topcoat.

Challenge: Dullness

Likely Culprit No. 1: Exposure to Solvents

â€œHousehold cleansers, makeup remover, hair products, and sunscreen break down a polishâ€™s finish,â€ says New Orleans dermatologist Patricia Farris.

Make It Last: Whether youâ€™re cleaning the house or coloring your hair, wear protective gloves and use implements when possible to keep your nails far from shine-dissolving agents, Farris advises.

Likely Culprit No. 2: Expired Nail Polish

â€œThe original hue, drying time, shine, and length of wear degrade over the life span of a polish,â€ says John McCook, a cosmetics chemist and the CEO of Discovery Partners, a product-development firm in Frisco, Texas.

Make It Last: â€œPurge polishes every six months,â€ says McCook. â€œDiscoloration and color separation that canâ€™t easily be fixed by shaking are cues that a lacquer has spoiled.â€

Nail Defenders

These products all work to extend the life of a manicure.

Orly Smudge Fixer, $7.50

Brushed over nicks, dents, and smudges, it instantly smooths them.

To Buy: Welcome to Orly Professional Nail Care Site for store locations.

Essie Shine-E, $16

A high-gloss topcoat that brightens a dull manicure and makes it last a few more days.

To Buy: 800-232-1155 for store locations.

Sally Hansen Mega Shine Extended Wear Topcoat, $6

Dries polish and keeps it intact for eight days.

To Buy: At drugstores.

Opi Start to Finish Base &amp; Top Coat, $10

Fortifies nails and adds shine.

To Buy: Welcome to OPI.com for store locations.

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## Bluey (Feb 10, 2008)

This is great info, thanks!


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## luxotika (Feb 10, 2008)

Great tips, thanks for posting!


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## rita1979 (Feb 13, 2008)

thaks for posting!


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## Jolanka (Feb 20, 2008)

WOW!!!

Those are great infos!!!

Thanks a lot!


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